Ocean Researcher: Sub-surface “Oilberg” plumes will “kill wetlands”; once “in the marshes we’ll never get it out”

If you listen to Tom Daly, coordinator for St. Lucie County's Division of Emergency Management, you might feel reassured the worst of the Gulf oil spill won't be coming our way.

Edie Widder, PhD, an internationally renowned ocean researcher based in Fort Pierce, would vehemently disagree. The spill is a continuing disaster that will impact us, our waterways and our grandkids for generations to come, she says. ...

Despite BP's denials, Widder cites university research ships finding oil plumes up to 1,100 meters below the surface. That oil will eventually clog and kill wetlands and mangroves, she said, Once the oil's in the marshes, we'll never get it out. ...

I'd like to believe the emergency managers, but my gut says to go with Widder. This catastrophe in the Gulf is going to be with us for a very long time after all the visible evidence has evaporated.